Pentecostal Prayer Gangs: Documenting Religion in a Brazilian Prison

Pentecostal Prayer Gangs: Documenting Religion in a Brazilian Prison

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Pentecostal Prayer Gangs: Documenting Religion in a Brazilian Prison

Posted February 10, 2015

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CRCC research associate Andrew Johnson is not a filmmaker, he insists: he conceived the documentary, “If I Give My Soul,” while he was doing research for his sociology dissertation at the University of Minnesota on religion in prisons.

The film (co-directed and co-written with Ryan Patch) shows how faith brings dignity to men living on the farthest margins of their society—and it shines a light on some of the facets of Pentecostalism that have helped to make it the fastest growing religious movement in the world.

Nick Street, CRCC’s senior writer, spoke to Andrew on the eve of the film’s Los Angeles premiere about what it was like to spend time behind bars and how he became part of the lives of the men whose stories he tells in his film.